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Polarising Sunglasses

R

Ricky Middleton

Senior Member
Hi

I'm looking to invest some of my Christmas funds into a good pair of polarizing sunglasses, for fishing and driving (especially as the sun is low in the sky at present)

Watching the Barbel days and ways then the optilabs seem a good option however at a shade over £200 non prescription, I wondered if there are better out there for the same or less money

does any one use these or are you able to recommend a good pair that you have experience of

Rick
 
I got some optix ones at the pound shop in Scarborough - olive/yellow lenses & at least as good as the Raybans I`ve used for driving & fishing for over 20 years. There is a lot of hype to overcome & price isn`t really the best guide. Remember they`ll be sat on or fall in the river!
 
I have a pair of the esp shades, brought them basically because they were fairly cheap and like Julian says, they're likely to end up broken or wet!
They do the job nicely and they're comfy to wear.
 
Because I love clear water barbel and chub fishing a good pair of polaroids are an essential piece of kit for me, so much so that I always carry a spare.
I have been using 'Catch' by Rapid Eyewear for the past 4-5 years which are supplied with 3 different pairs of lenses,.. bright to low light etc.
They help me to spot that tell tale red tail of a barbel underneath a waving bed of ranunculus even on a windy day. The frames are light and comfortable as well as being tough, and are supplied in a hard case. Whilst being very pleased with the glasses I find the case a little on the big side which is better suited to a designated ruckbag pocket rather than a jacket or waistcoat.
The bottom line is that they work really well and are comfortable,..also come with a retaining cord and retail at around 40 quid, I would certainly recommend them for chalkstream fish spotting.
I use a non polaroid pair of glasses for driving.
I believe Rapid Eyewear make prescription polaroids if required.
dt:)
 
Ricky

Optilabs are expensive but worth the investment, you only need one pair as the ultra 2000 adjust to suit light setting and very quickly.
I have them with bi-focal lenses which enables me to read without removing and putting on another pair of glasses.
Best polaroids I have ever used and as they say you get what you pay for.
 
I hear what your saying about the glasses will end up in the river or lost, while doing some close season fluff chucking on the river dove, my mates optilabs dropped off his head and into the river never to be seen again

I think it was the ultra2000 lenses that were mentioned in the barbel days and ways
 
Have had a pair of prescription optilabs now for 5 years. Brilliant glasses for fishing with. My only gripe is that the frames are not tough enough to handle lots of usage and they then charge u £60 to have lenses put in new frame….
 
Phil Nixon said:
Ricky

Optilabs are expensive but worth the investment, you only need one pair as the ultra 2000 adjust to suit light setting and very quickly.
I have them with bi-focal lenses which enables me to read without removing and putting on another pair of glasses.
Best polaroids I have ever used and as they say you get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

Good point re. prescription glasses Phil. I need glasses for reading nowadays and find it a pain to keep having to swap glasses to tie a rig or position a hairstop for instance. I did try just keeping my reading specs on top of my head ready to use but having two magnifying glasses on yer bonse on a hot summers day is not to be recommended!
Trouble is, that I don't trust myself with bi-focals and will end up stepping off a high bank and getting a soaking! :D
dt
 
I tend to use amber low light lenses most of the time,. even in bright conditions, just what you get used to I guess. They say " the futures bright,.. the futures orange " don't they?
 
I use some "angling specific" oakleys and their great, quite pricey new but I got an ex display pair off eBay with (sample) inside for about a third of the price
 
I have to wear bi focals these days. I was delighted to find some genuine Polaroid branded flip up clip on lenses for about a tenner in my opticians.
No need for multiple glasses, difficult to loose, easy to use, light and cheap enough to replace if trodden or sat on. SORTED.
 
Precision Angling (look on ebay) do good reasonably priced polarising sunglasses and they include a hard case and strap to prevent you losing them.

Having said that my spare pair from ALDI (£3.99) perform reasonably well.

I wear prescription glasses (varifocal) and have found clip-ons to be useless because they don't wrap round to cut out extraneous light from behind. As my prescription seems to change on an annual basis buying prescription polarising glasses would be prohibitively expensive.

I therefore have to keep swapping when I need to tie a hook or do any other close work.

At one time I had a pair of sunglasses with a little built in magnifying area at the bottom (bit like bi-focals). I lost them and have never been able to find another pair.
 
I was friendly with someone who worked on a fly fishing magazine at the time and they gave me them to try out. Really useful for changing flies when you can't focus on close objects due to long sight but spend most of the time looking at the end of the fly line at some distance.

Be pleased to hear from anyone who knows where there might still be available.
 
Optilabs Ultra 2000 / Drivewear lenses are very good, the vari tint is very effective in changing light (much better than bronze lenses in low light. I sold mine this year because i wanted a pair of Maui Jim HTs, they are fantastic but its best to have a second pair of bronze ones for bright sunlight as well, so Optilabs are not as extravagant as they first appear.

Much cheaper and surprisingly good are the Fortis wraps,in bronze and amber they really are very good.

Like Dave i've spent years sight fishing in clear water and i don't mind spending more on a pair of sunglasses than a fancy new rod, simply because they are more important !
 
i dont really like clipon type either i bought some fox overglasses which arent too bad but there may be better out there
 
Good memory eh!
 
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